SANTA FE 4 - STAFF - 2020-2024
EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR
ALAN S. QUESTEL, GCFP*
Santa Fe, NM USA
Alan, as the Educational Director of The Feldenkrais® Professional Training in Santa Fe, is responsible for the pedagogic integrity of the training program. He will develop the curriculum, manage the educational staff and maintain an overview of each trainee's learning.
Alan S. Questel is known for his clarity, creativity and down to earth style of teaching. He brings a depth of understanding, humor and a gentle human perspective to the learning of the Method and creates lively conditions for learning.
Trained by Dr. Feldenkrais (Amherst 1983), Alan has lectured and taught at hospitals, colleges and FELDENKRAIS® Professional Training Programs throughout the U.S., Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, France, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Japan, Taiwan, Canada, Brazil and Colombia teaching people from all walks of life.
He has taught at Princeton University, S.U.N.Y. College at Purchase, the New York Open Center, the New Actors Workshop, NYC, The Institute for Transpersonal Psychology, Palo Alto, CA and at Mother Teresa’s Shishu Bhavan in Calcutta, India.
An actor before becoming interested in the FELDENKRAIS METHOD®, Alan worked and toured with Jerzy Grotowski (My Dinner With Andre) and Paul Sills (Second City, Chicago and Story Theatre).
He became an Assistant Trainer in 1986 and earned his accreditation as a Trainer in 1994. He has taught in over 40 FELDENKRAIS® Professional Training Programs in worldwide.
One of his great interests is the embodiment of creativity and he has developed a body of work for performers utilizing the FELDENKRAIS METHOD®. Alan sees the FELDENKRAIS METHOD® as a means for individual maturation, and aspires towards making this appreciable and concrete for his students both in training programs and in his practice.
Alan has directed and co-directed 17 training programs in Bronxville, New York; Marin and Sonoma Counties, California; Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth, Australia; Phoenix, Arizona; Malmo, Sweden; Cali, Columbia; Santa Fe, New Mexico and is currently Educational Director in trainings in Santa Fe, NM.
Alan is also the creator of the DVD program ‘Pregnant Pauses-Movement for Moms’ and has produced 17 CD sets of public workshops in the FELDENKRAIS METHOD®. He makes his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
*GCFP-Guild Certified FELDENKRAIS® PractitionerCM
TRAINERS
DEBORAH BOWES, GCFP*, PT
San Francisco, CA USA
Deborah Bowes is a Feldenkrais Trainer and a Physical Therapist. She’s a graduate of Columbia University in Physical Therapy, has a Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Shenandoah University, and a B.S. in Biology and Physical Education from Rhode Island College. Other related in depth studies and practice include Tai Chi Chuan, Chi Kung, yoga, sensory awareness, meditation, and dance.
She co-founded the Feldenkrais® Center for Movement Education in San Francisco in 1988, and for the past 25 years, has offered Feldenkrais Method® classes, workshops and individualized lessons to adults and children, as well as mentorship for Feldenkrais® practitioners. Her presentations and in-service trainings include diverse groups such as the American Physical Therapy Association, Worker’s Compensation Nurses and Case Managers, UCSF Medical Students, Kaiser Dermatology Department, Catholic Social Services, Sonoma Valley Hospital, UC Davis Pain Management Conference, Buen Dia Family School, Pacific Association of Women Martial Artists, and St. Francis Hospital Women Physicians group.
She has authored and recorded specialized Feldenkrais® Awareness Through Movement® programs addressing chronic pain and pelvic floor issues. She is interested in the application of Feldenkrais Method® to improve overall health and well-being in both the practitioner and client. She is currently working at Stanford Hospital working with people with complex and persistent medical conditions, as well as in her private practice.
*GCFP-Guild Certified FELDENKRAIS® PractitionerCM
ARLYN ZONES, GCFP*, MA (Theatre Arts)
San Francisco, CA USA
Arlyn Zones (MA Theatre Arts) has been involved in the Feldenkrais Method® since 1977 and graduated in 1983 from the last training that Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais conducted. She is one of the most experienced Trainers in the U.S. and has taught in numerous trainings worldwide. She has directed her own programs in Europe and North America. In addition, over the last 30 years Arlyn has taught workshops for health professionals, performing artists, and the general public as well as offering post graduate seminars for Feldenkrais® Practitioners. She lives in San Francisco where she maintains a private practice in which she works with infants, children and adults who are seeking help for a wide range of physical and neurological difficulties.
*GCFP-Guild Certified FELDENKRAIS® PractitionerCM
KATRIN SMITHBACK, GCFP*
Santa Fe, NM USA
Katrin Smithback began her studies with Moshe Feldenkrais in 1980 and has had a continuous private practice in Santa Fe, New Mexico since then. As a faculty member at the College of Santa Fe for 17 years, she taught applied movement in the theater, dance, music and physical education departments. She was also an instructor at the NM Academy of Healing Arts for eight years, teaching the movement principles/body mechanics portion of the massage therapy program. She teaches workshops and classes for a wide variety of groups, including athletes, performers, the disabled, therapists, the elderly, and the general public. She also leads study groups, mentoring programs and advanced trainings for trainees and practitioners and is the Editor of the Feldenkrais Journal. She is presently the Educational Director of training programs in Japan and Argentina and teaches in professional training programs in the US, Canada, South America, Asia and Europe.
*GCFP-Guild Certified FELDENKRAIS® PractitionerCM
DONNA RAY, M.A., M.F.T.
DONNA RAY, M.A., M.F.T. is an internationally known Teacher/Trainer and Educational Director of The Feldenkrais Method, Psychotherapist and Interpersonal Neurobiology presenter. She imparts knowledge and experience from her 30 years of practice with tremendous vitality and insight. She has worked with creative and talented people at the highest level including; professional athletes, singers, musicians and actors. People of all ages recovering from accidents and illness, anxiety & depression benefit from her unique approach. Donna’s background in psychology, hypnotherapy, dance, martial & expressive arts enables her to work with individuals, couples, families and groups in a variety of settings. She loves seeing people learn healthy ways of living that can transform their lives.
JULIE CASSON-RUBIN, GCFP*
San Francisco, CA USA
Julie Casson Rubin trained directly with Dr. Moshé Feldenkrais graduating from his first North American training. For the past 35 years, Julie has kept a full private practice in San Francisco while also teaching in Feldenkrais teacher training programs, continuing education courses for health providers and educators including practicing Feldenkrais Teachers. Julie has been co-educational director of all ISSE training programs in the U.S., Australia and Europe. Julie was instrumental in bringing the Method into use at the San Francisco General Hospital, University of California, San Francisco in its pioneering Behavioral Medicine Clinic beginning in 1979 and in Health Education programs at Kaiser Permanente in the early 1990’s.
Julie took her degree in Dance & Physical Education from San Francisco State University. She and her husband Paul Rubin are the parents of four young adults.
*GCFP-Guild Certified FELDENKRAIS® PractitionerCM
